ature judgment in favour
of the less reliable decision of his wife? In short, had he not made a
consummate ass of himself all round? Of course he had.

"By the way, Selwood, there is one thing I want to tell you about now we
are together," said Maurice, after a pause. "You and the others were
asking about Fanning just now. The fact is, he is not with me, but I
couldn't say so without entering into further explanations, which would
certainly have alarmed the ladies. We found our `Valley of the Eye' all
right, and a deuce of a job it was. Pheugh! I wouldn't go on that
jaunt again for twice the loot. The `Eye' is a genuine concern, I can
tell you--a splendid stone--Fanning has got it. Well, we spent the day
picking up a few other stones, and just as we were clearing out we were
attacked by a lot of Bushmen or Korannas, or whatever they were, and had
to run. By Jove! it was touch and go. They pressed us hard until dark,
and then we had to separate--to throw them off the scent, don't you see?
We agreed to meet at his place--that is, if we were to meet anywhere
again in this world. Well, I had an awful time of it in those infernal
mountains, dodging the niggers. I couldn't show my nose in the daytime,
and didn't know the country well enough to make much headway at night,
and I nearly starved. It took me more than a week before I could fetch
the river, and get through to Fanning's place, and when I got there he
hadn't turned up. But I found a letter which had been sent by special
messenger, requiring me at Cape Town, sharp, about some infernal but
important law business, and I'm on my way there now. I left a note for
Fanning, telling him what to do with my share of the swag when it came
to dividing, for we hadn't had time to attend to that then, and except a
few small stones he has it all on him. It'll be something good, I
guess. I dare say he's turned up at home again long before this. He
was just laughing in his sleeve at the idea of a few niggers like that
thinking to run him to earth. And he seems to know that awful country
like ABC. I never saw such a fellow."

"That's bad news, Sellon, right bad news," said the other, shaking his
head. "Renshaw has been all his life at that sort of thing, so we must
hope he'll turn up all right. But--the pitcher that goes too often to
the pump, you know."

"Well, I need hardly say I devoutly hope he will, for if not I shall be
the loser to a very large extent, as